Second Chance
by Secret-Pass-Time
Summary: "Man in Moon says Jack requires second childhood to replace missing memories." North stated, arm around the brunette boy leaning against his side. "An' he has to be human for that!" Exclaimed a frantic Bunny.
1. Chapter 1

Jack whooped loudly as the crisp, clear, cold air whipped every which way around him, supporting him in his over the top stunts. It was his last chance to spread as much snow and ice as he pleased before spring would set in and he wasn't holding back for anyone -not even Bunny- and it showed. Thick blankets of snow wrapped cars and buildings snuggly in their icy grasps, long crystals hung from any ledge they found themselves on, casting elegant shimmery light over the fluffy white beneath them. Jack grinned as one fell from a roof and scared the daylights out of a little boy who promptly giggled.

Since the battle with Pitch, Jack was slowly easing into having people he could go to, somewhere to go at night, something to do in his free time. It was the rapid drop from the sky that made him stop flying and land in a large pile of the snow he had created. Dizziness and a headache made themselves known. He didn't even stop to consider how strange it would be for an immortal to become ill before diving straight up in the air...and continuing exactly what he was doing. He covered everything he could see until it became too dark to possibly see what he was doing before relenting and asking the strangely weak wind to take him to North.

It took a few hours and more than a few falls as an exhausted Jack stumbled into the workshop, Head clutched in one hand, eyes squeezed shut as he relied on memory to take him to North's office.

He didn't make it two whole feet before everything went black and he felt the ground smack him hard in the face.


	2. Chapter 2

North paced silently back and forth in front of the fire place, one hand stroking his long beard, worry creasing his features, eyes flickering to the other guardians as what he had told them sunk in.

"He's ill?" Bunny questioned, doubt lingering in his voice. "He cant be ill,he's immortal." He shifted his weight from one leg to the other as a paw smoothed down the fur on his ears.

"Obviously is not true. He appears dizzy then faints almost every time he stands, eyes are clouded and dull, skin red, temperature almost at that of a human..." North listed off Jack's symptoms, counting them off on his hand.

"But he's going to be alright, isn't he?" Toothiana whispered the words so quickly everyone had to concentrate to properly understand her.

"We can only hope so." The large man then resumed his pacing.

"He's going to be fine." An australian accent pierced the air, a determined edge to it, the three other guardians turned to Bunny. "We'll bring him down here, put him on the sofa, put out the fire, open the windows, make it nice and freezing cold for him and he can sleep it off." He shrugged, trying to make it seem like a miracle cure to the unknown illness Jack had gotten himself.

North nodded slowly.

"Is worth a try." He smoothed a hand over his hair. "I'll bring him down." With that, the man strode through the large building and up to the highest point where his bedroom was nestled into a barely noticeable wooden door. The door swung open with a slight creak which he once again reminded himself to fix.

On a bed of simple red cloth and blankets, Jack lay asleep, hair slick on his forehead, clothing damp with sweat despite the large windows being open allowing the biting cold and snow in. He shook the boy's shoulder.

"Jack, you must come downstairs." He whispered.

"'Kay." Jack groaned but despite that, simply closed his eyes again. A slight smile graced North's lips at that. He slowly lifted the boy to a sitting position and pulled his legs to rest his feet on the ground, to his relief Jack stood, leaning heavily on the older's side. North wrapped one arm around him to help him keep upright as they walked.

By the time they reached the main room, Jack's head had rolled and landed on North's chest as though it was simply too heavy for his neck to hold upright. North had had to practically carry the boy most of the way. Neither acknowledged the guardians worried and shocked faces, in North's case, he simply didn't want to, and in Jack's case, he had fallen asleep on his feet and had to be picked up and laid down on the sofa.

Once Jack had settled, curled up into a cushion, North turned to the guardians.

"He has been like this for three days now..." He looked at the three of them but was distracted by Tooth's intent stare at Jack.

"Is his hair darker than usual?" She fluttered over to the sleeping boy and stroked his head, smiling slightly as he sighed at the contact. Then her expression turned to worry as she noticed both his change in temperature and the roots of his hair. She pulled the front of his hair up and away from his face and gasped.

"Its turning brown." North, Sandy and Bunny were there in an instant to confirm that what the fairy was saying was true. Sandy tapped his chin with one finger before an eye appeared over his head. Tooth nodded and turned to Jack.

"Jack, honey, can you open your eyes for me?" Sluggishly, his eyes opened to reveal his blue eyes tainted by a ring of brown around his pupil. At the worried expressions, Jack was more alert.

"What? What's wrong." His voice was raspy and slurred.

"Its probably nothing, so don't panic, but your eyes and your hair..." Tooth searched for an elegant way to put it, first syllables of words coming out before Bunny stepped in.

"They're going brown." Tooth frowned at him before Jack in his sleepy daze, murmured the first thing that entered his mind.

"Like they were when I was human?" He closed his eyes again.

"It would seem so..." North muttered. Sandy created an image of a book above his head, pages turning quickly.

"Research! Yes, good idea Sandy!" North shouted so loud that Jack jumped, eyes wide in a comical expression.

"North!" Tooth scolded before patting Jack's head, encouraging him to relax.

"My apologies, perhaps Sandy, Bunny and I had better go while you stay here and look after him." Tooth nodded, her motherly ways already making themselves known as she knelt by Jack's head and she began pulling her fingers through his sweaty hair, smoothing it out of his face and inadvertently showing that a good inch of each strand was now brown. She scarcely noticed that the three men had left.

She sat there for over an hour, chewing her lip as she could easily see the brown creeping up each pure white strand of hair. She wanted desperately for him to open his eyes and let her see if his eyes had progressively become darker the way his hair had but she refrained and tried to think of something else.

She tried to wonder how baby tooth was doing filling in as her, she tried to wonder how the men were getting along with their research, she tried to wonder if it was cool enough, but all that went out the window as Jack shivered. A spirit of winter shivering? Worry flooded every corner of her mind as she fluttered nearer, almost fainting when fully brown eyes met hers.

"Tooth, 'm cold." She nodded and attempted to calm herself for him as she flew to each window and shut them, then gathered a blanket from another chair and spread it over him, she rubbed his upper arm through the blanket as he snuggled further down into the blanket, a soft sigh and easy grin made it obvious he was comfortable, his eyes remained open but now that they were, Tooth almost wished he would just close them again, the terror a different eye colour brought to her was unimaginable. They weren't supposed to be that way, they were supposed to be blue. Ice blue.

Despite her worry, she smiled at the slightly delirious boy.

"How do you feel?" her voice jumped at the end as the rest of his white hair turned a dark chestnut brown, but she tried to mask it.

"Better. Where's all the everyone else?" His voice was dreamy and slurred, accented with a slight giggle.

"They're in the library." As she said it, she moved to sit on the edge of the sofa where Jack lay, her hand rubbing circles on his upper back.

"I didn't know cottontail had a library card..." He murmured as he rubbed his eye and giggled. Tooth didn't know weither to be relieved his illness was easing off, or worried by his silly response.

"No, he doesn't dear, they're all in North's library." She smiled as realisation dawned on him and he burst into a fit of giggles. It was at that moment the three men re-entered the room, hands empty and faces full of stress.

"Nothing. All those books and nothing!" North exclaimed, looking down at his feet. Since no-one was currently paying him any attention, Jack decided -in his foggy mind- to speak to them.

"Hey North! North! North!" The man looked at the giggling heap of brown hair wrapped in a dark red blanket in faint amusement.

"Yes, Jack?"

"North! North! Why do you have a beard?" His entire upper body flew up in place and Tooth pushed him back down.

"Because it was crawling along the ground one day when it saw me and attacked my face then just never let go." Jack's mind-blown expression was beyond hilarious and in any other situation, North would have laughed, but the deep rooted worry for the boy, although it was weakened by the child's antics, still held his mind.

"Hey, Bunny!" He shouted overly loudly as the three took their seats.

"Yeah, Snowflake?" Jack frowned.

"I'm not a snowflake, you are!" He shouted with conviction. Bunny simply shook his head, smiling.

"Alright, whatever you say, I'm a snowflake." This brought on a new round of giggles from Jack.

"Don't be stupid bun-bun. You're a rabbit, not a snowflake." Then he became a giggling mess again as Bunny rubbed his eyes.

"Sandy! Sandy! Are you actually made of sand?" Sandy nodded, a grin on his lips as he awaited Jack's idiotic response.

"Oh, man! Has anyone ever built you into a sandcastle?! Do you ever build yourself bigger muscles with sand?!" Sand made a big X over his head while shaking his head.

"Jack, I think it is for best that you go to sleep for a little while." North patted Sandy's shoulder as the boy shook his head wildly but then passed out as a ball of gold hit him.

"His hair and eyes turned completely brown a few minutes ago, right before he told me that he was cold." Tooth muttered quietly.

"We should ask Man in Moon. He must know something." Bunnymund stated, paw still on his forehead.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi! just a quick note, I know Jack is supposed to be eighteen but for this storyI've changed his age to be around twelve, sorry if that upsets anyone.

Man in Moon had been subtle in his help, simply directing a beam of silver light at the small parcel laying on a table, almost unnoticed despite the blue paper and silver ribbon.

"My gift for Jack?" Tooth wondered out loud. The three men's eyes were on her as a glittering gold question-mark appeared above sandy's head.

"Its his memories. I know he's seen a few of them, but I assume he's not seen them all."

"I think we have to look at them." Bunny muttered.

"But isn't that an invasion of his privacy?" Tooth asked, eyes drifting to the shivering bundle of red wool and brown hair on the sofa.

"Perhaps, but it must be done." North stated. Finally, tooth nodded before picking up the gift and opening it, never tearing the shimmering blue paper, then removing the gold tooth box from the simple white card box and holding it out. The four guardians cast a look towards their youngest member.

"It must be done." Bunny repeated North's words before he placed his paw on the box, followed by Sandy, North and Tooth as their vision shifted.

-First memory-

A young brown haired boy, only eight years old, carried a baby on one hip from her bed to their parents room to wake their mother. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the young boy was Jack, as he pulled silly faces all the way there just to make the girl laugh. Finally, the children arrived at their mothers bedside.

"Oh, dear you got her dressed as well? What a good boy! What would I do without you?" Their mother asked sleepily, a smile on her face as she took the baby in her arms, leaving the young Jack to follow behind.

-Second memory-

"Jack, where's your dinner?" His mother asked as Jack placed three plates down on the table, one for his sister, one for his mother and one for his father.

"I've already eaten." Jack waved his hand, appearing to be telling the truth, but unbeknownst to his mother and sister, he had not split four portions, only three, opting to give his portion away to his sister and still the scant sliver of meat would be hardly enough to feed her. So how could he take it?

-Third memory-

He spent nights awake, looking after his little baby sister after the constant nightmares she experienced, he gave his money from the Tooth fairy to his mother to help with anything he could, he carried his sister around the field to look for easter eggs on easter sunday since before she could walk, and he spent Christmas playing with his sister. Each memory was completely joyous yet tinged with sadness.

-Fourth memory-

The last memory was undoubtedly the hardest for the guardians to watch and it was the reason they stopped watching. It was the day Jackson became Jack Frost. They watched in silent horror from the moment Jack took his sister out as he did daily, as a time for his mother to have time to do what needed to be done around the house until he fell through the ice.

They watched until the moment Jack closed his warm brown eyes and opened his ice blue ones before pulling back.

"Tooth!" Bunny shouted full of rage. "Why did you show us that?! Why those memories?!"

"I didn't choose them. People see what they need to see most when they use these!" She held the box up and out, close to Bunny's face, tears obvious in her eyes.

"I understand." North whispered. "Jack's childhood was full of sacrifice and putting up with things, but now is not the case, he doesn't need to give up things, he doesn't need to sacrifice and he can come first. Manny believes Jack requires second childhood, with all good memories."

"An' he has to be human for that?!" exclaimed an exhausted and enraged Bunny, hopping forward, towards North.

"Apparently so."

"Well how do we make him back into Jack Frost?" Tooth asked.

"I don't know" North mumbled, arms wide, "But with so long until christmas, i can look into it."

"He's freezing." Tooth muttered worriedly, flying closer and wrapping the boy in her arms, almost hiding him and she held him that way until he woke up.

"Tooth?" A voice slightly rougher that they one they had been used to pierced the quiet.

"Jack, my boy! How are you feeling?" North masked his worry and sadness with a loud, cheerful shout.

"Tired, cold, worried by the fact that my hair is..." He trailed off, holding a strand of hair out so he could see it properly.

"We have asked Manny, all that he seems to be able to explain is that you are human so that you can experience second childhood. No worries though, I will find way to reverse spell." North came forward and crouched in front of the sofa to be eye level with Jack.

"Jack, you must be brave. We will fix this. Until then, we must make arrangements."

"What like?" Bunny asked from behind North. The large bearded man stood and spun to face Bunny and Sandy.

"Is far too cold for Jack to stay here, as much as I was he could."

"Then he'll stay with me." Tooth stated firmly.

"You do not possess the basic requirements needed. He needs space, he needs warmth, he needs..."

"A mother's love. That is something none of you can provide."

"You can see him as often as you'd like, Tooth." North stated, but the idea of releasing the trembling boy clinging to her seemed out of the question and even less understandable when North made his next suggestion.


	4. Chapter 4

"The warren would certainly be warm enough." North hinted. After a moment, Bunny turned to him, shock littering his features.

"W-w- what?! Let h-him stay with ME?! You must be joking!" Bunny exploded.

"It only makes sense. It is much to cold for him here, and Sandy and Tooth are far too busy, and with easter an entire year away, you have nothing to do. Eggs cannot be prepared until closer to the time, yes? Perishables you called them." North trailed off, a large grin when he knew he was winning the argument.

Bunny looked to Jack, expecting him to argue in favour of another place to stay, but the boy was just staring hopefully at him from his place curled into Tooth's shoulder while she held him tightly through the blanket. And it made sense. Tooth had her feathers, North was adapted to deal with the cold since he was chosen, the sandman was, well, made of sand, even Bunny himself had his fur. But an overly skinny human boy? He didn't stand a chance in this freezing place, built long before heating.

"Ugh! Fine!" He attempted to sound enraged, but honestly with someone looking so pitiful staring at you that way, it was difficult. Especially if that someone was usually stubborn, grumpy at times and strong.

"Thank you Bunny." North smiled. "I'd offer you all a little something to eat but I think it best Jack gets to the warren ASAP."

Jack attempted to stand, but his legs and arms were enormously weak and had Tooth not been close, he would have hit the ground. Bunny gave one powerful hop and landed in front of the pair then looped an arm around the boy's waist, and led him to a more open section of floor before tapping his foot twice.

"We'll drop by every now and again." North shouted as Bunny dropped himself into the tunnel, pulling the small teen, still wrapped in his blanket with him until they landed in the soft grass of the warren, Jack's staff dropping through just before the tunnel closed as someone had evidantly thrown it through. Bunny felt a shiver go through Jack as they left the frigid cold and went into the warmth. Bunny guided Jack to a shaded spot, underneath a large tree, small white flowers blossoming and sat him down, handing him his staff.

Jack leant against the trunk and looked up at Bunny.

"So, what now?" Jack asked. Bunny looked like a deer in the headlights as the full realisation of the situation came crashing down in him.

"I suppose something to eat and an early night?" Jack nodded thoughtfully and pulled the blanket tightly around him, touching his staff to the grass, and when no ice or frost appeared, he sighed.

"How am I supposed to bring winter if I cant use my powers?"

"You don't. The seasons'll just have to happen as normal without assistance." Jack slouched further down.

"Hope you don't mind turning vegetarian." A false laugh in his voice, Bunny tried to get a reaction out of the boy, handing him a carrot. A clear opportunity for a joke. Yet, Jack just took it and nibbled at the end. Bunny settle next to him and looked out over his warren then back to Jack.

"So, where d'ya wanna sleep?"

"umm, dont you have like a house or something?" Bunny smirked before Jack realised his mistake.

"This entire place is my house. I'm a bunny." He repeated his words from the first time they had really met, this time in a considerably nicer way.

"So, I can sleep anywhere?" Bunny smiled and nodded, glad to see a glint of excitement in Jack's eyes, even if they were the wrong colour. After finishing his carrot, he looked up into the tree they sat on and pulled himself up to standing position on slightly shaking legs, blanket sliding off of his damp shoulders and leapt up to grab the lowest branch then attempted to pull himself up but his weakened arms relented and he dropped to the ground, half caught by Bunny who had been waiting below.

"Maybe not in a tree until you feel stonger, mate." Jack frowned as he was pulled down to the ground.

"There. Sleep here tonight and maybe tomorrow you can...sleep...in a tree." The sheer strangeness of the situation left Bunny confused.

"I usually sleep in trees." Jack stated. "Or in the snow."

"Well, I hope you can make do with grass." Jack nodded and allowed Bunny to pull the blanket over him. His staff lay in the grass about a meter away.

"M'not tired." Jack mumbled.

"Yeah, those dark circles say otherwise. Go to sleep." Jack sighed and closed his eyes, curling up under the blanket. Bunny then sat against the tree and ran a paw over his head. He sat there with nothing to do in a daydream until he drifted off to sleep.

-next morning-

The first thing Bunny was aware of was that there were people in his warren, the second thing was the warm being against his back. He lifted his head and looked behind him and sighed. In his sleep he must have shifted and curled up on the ground and Jack, in his sleep, also shifted to be laying against him, curled into Bunny's back.

He shifted forward and let Jack fall onto his own back before sniffing the air to confirm what he already knew. The other guardians were here. Undoubtedly with advice and demands for how to look after Jack. He gave a loud shout, temporarily ignoring the sleeping boy behind him, and a blur of green, yellow and blue feathers zipped passed him to see her 'sweet tooth'. He turned in time to see Jack waking up to a dental check up looking rather afraid.


End file.
